Some vehicles utilize multiple motors in the drive system. For example, a vehicle may have a separate electric motor driving each wheel or a combination of wheels (e.g., one electric motor driving a rear pair of wheels and another electric motor driving a front pair of wheels). One benefit of having multiple electric motors is to implement greater control or response of the vehicle to a variety of environments.
Each of the electric motors is typically controlled with a different processor or controller. Using a separate controller for each of the electric motors may seem convenient to implement. For example, each of the motors may be operated asynchronously (e.g., switching and sampling at different rates), and these rates may also be independently changing during operation. However, each controller contributes to the overall number of drive system components and generally increases the size, weight, and complexity thereof. An additional controller may be used to coordinate the controllers, and thereby control the electric motors, but will generally increase the number of vehicle components and further increase drive system size, weight, and complexity.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a controller or system with a reduced number of components for controlling multiple motors operating asynchronously. In addition, it is desirable to provide a method for controlling multiple motors operating asynchronously using a single processor. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.